The Calatayud wine region is situated in the province of Zaragoza and covers an area of 5,600 hectares. The Calatayud wine region consists of 15 vineyards (Bodegas), which produce 14 millon liter of wine annually. There is a very big export market for wines, mainly red, from this area and here in Alberta we are fortunate to find some on the shelves. Here is my impression of a recent red I opened, please add any thoughts or comments.

Nose. Dark fruits quite muted, even on day 2. Some red fruits, some earthy notes here. Strawberry, hint of oak?

Palate. Entry is dry, soft/supple tannins. Very "old world" in style, no fruit bomb here folks. Full-bodied, berryish, cherry, in fact quite tart but tasty. No real heat here, seems to be at its best potential right now. Some riper/brighter fruits on day 2 and less astringent on the finish.

Bob - I'm actually impressed that you found a wine from Calatayud that was NOT an aspiring fruit bomb. In my limited experience, everything that I have tried from this area has seemingly been made with the intention to impress critics who favor riper, fruitier wines. As far as the wine that you tried, I haven't had much success with Grenache-dominated Spanish wines, but I'm glad to hear that this one was more balanced than most.

Las Rocas, anyone? So yeah, a lot of them are, echoing Andrew, pretty showy and blowsy and bold. Still, I've had some at trade tastings, made form old vine grenache and with uncharacteristic restraint, that were decent enough.